ATLANTA—Louisville coach Rick Pitino didn’t mince words when asked what makes Wichita State a dangerous Final Four opponent: “I’ll say this without exaggeration. They’re the best team we will have faced this year at the defensive end.”

That might sound hyperbolic, but there is no truth-stretching from Pitino here.

Louisville is operating at another level offensively, though. The Cardinals’ versatile attack starts with the backcourt of Peyton Siva and Russ Smith, two extremely quick guards who have complementary mindsets. Siva loves to pass and Smith loves to shoot, and both love to penetrate into the lane to make things happen.

In a way, that’s similar to what La Salle, a team that started four guards, tried to do in the Sweet 16, but the Explorers shot just 35.7 percent from the field against Wichita State.

“Watching the La Salle game, Wichita can get you out of your offense, and I think that’s what happened,” Smith said. “Wichita was able to crank the pressure up defensively, and there was a lot of one-on-one going on, wasn’t a lot of ball movement. We know that we have to make a lot of ball-movement plays, get in the lane and kick it out for the open guy and not take quick shots.”

Conversely, limiting the effectiveness of the Siva-Smith combo will be just the start of a big defensive challenge for Wichita State.

“We’ve been able to take away some strengths of other guards—I’m not going to name names—but we’ve been able to take away some strengths and then they really didn’t have an Option B,” Shockers coach Gregg Marshall says. “But these guys have Options A, B and C.”

One on One: Malcolm Armstead vs. Peyton Siva (and Russ Smith)

Armstead seems to be the ideal type of player to handle the never-ending defensive pressure Louisville presents. The West Region most outstanding player is strong, with a low center of gravity, so he won’t be as likely to be knocked off the ball. And he’s lefthanded, which at least offers the Louisville guards a different look. Plus, he’s a 23-year-old senior who started 52 games at Oregon, then sat out a transfer year and has started all 38 games this season for the Shockers.

Siva and Smith have as much postseason experience as any guards in the country. They played nine postseason games last season (four Big East, five NCAA Tournament), and this semifinal will be their eighth this year (three Big East, five NCAA Tournament). Louisville is 15-1 in those 16 completed contests. So, yes, this is Armstead’s biggest basketball challenge ever. If he can handle the pressure and get the Wichita State offense initiated, the Shockers have a chance at yet another upset. If he can’t, this game could get ugly.

Behind the scenes

Louisville guard Tim Henderson, a junior walk-on from Louisville, had a regular stream of reporters stopping by during the open locker-room session. He steps into Kevin Ware’s role as the first guard off the bench; he won’t play nearly as many minutes as Ware, of course, but could play a big role should Smith and/or Siva have foul trouble. For a guy with 208 minutes of court time and 47 points to his name in a three-year career, the extra attention was something new for Henderson.

Quote of the day

Wichita State point guard Malcolm Armstead: “When I heard about Wichita State and found out that it was in Kansas, first thing that came to mind was Wizard of Oz. That was really the only thing I knew about it.”

Final Four fact

Wichita State’s Elite Eight win against second-seeded Ohio State pushed the Shockers’ all-time NCAA Tournament record to 12-10 in 10 appearances. This is the school’s second Final Four, the first since 1965.